Cultural Differences

I love learning about new and different cultures. However, sometimes it’s a little difficult. For example, I was asking a Muslim man to translate from Arabic to English for this one lady when half way through the conversation I realized that he must have thought me extremely rude because I, a young girl, was looking him in the eye when I was talking to him.

Here are some more differences I have had to adjust to:

1.       It is perfectly acceptable to pick your nose in public. I’ve even seen some people digging for gold while having a conversation with me or in a professional meeting.

2.       It is perfectly acceptable for mothers to breast feed their children EVERYWHERE. In church, in town, while talking to me at the health center….. The baby starts crying and they just pull out one of their breasts and start feeding. No privacy blanket or anything. Some will leave their shirts up or unbuttoned even after they are done.

3.       It is perfectly acceptable and not meant to be embarrassing at all to talk about how many children you want to reproduce.

4.       When shaking someone’s hand, it is respectful to touch your left hand to your right elbow. This has actually become second nature for me now.

5.       There is no word for “please” in Lugbara. So instead of saying “Will you please come here?” one would simply say, “you come.” Very direct. Not at all rude to outright tell someone to do something. I asked the gaurds for the correct translation for “May I have my keys, please?” When they gave me the phrase in Lugbara I figured out that the direct translation into English is, “You give me my keys.”

6.       Anytime something unpleasant happens to someone (you trip or spill something or you step in mud) everyone immediately says “Sorry, sorry!” even if it is not their fault.

7.       To put an emphasis on a word, you say it twice. For example, “you come now now” or “you give me small small.” I use the latter phase when referring to the amount of traditional Lugbara food dished onto my plate.

8.       No one says “Bless you” after a sneeze.

9.       As a young girl, looking an older man in the eye is considered rude.

10.   An average length of a social event is about 5-7 hours. It starts with about a two or three hour mass, has many speeches, food, and a collection. It is usually outside, which means it’s HOT.

11.   It is polite to shake EVERYONE’s hand. Whether you are passing them while walking or walking into a room full of strangers, you shake pretty much everyone’s hand. If your hand is unclean then you simply stick out your fist and the other person will briefly grab your wrist.

12.   Then there is the matter of wearing skirts everywhere. I wear “trousers” around the Media Center but not usually anywhere else. I will be perfectly honest when telling you that I am looking forward to wearing jeans everywhere and everyday again.

These are just a few that I can think of right now. I’m sure I’ll tell you about some more later.